Saturday, March 15, 2008

Facebook Geography

"Ma'aleh Adumim resident Julian Czarny woke up recently to discover that he lived in 'Palestine' - at least according to the popular Internet social networking site Facebook.

"Facebook no longer allows members from Ma'aleh Adumim, Ariel, Betar Illit and other settlements over the Green Line to list their hometowns as situated in Israel, but instead provides only a preset location, with their country listed as 'Palestine.'

"'Someone at Facebook is simply prejudging whatever may or may not come about in future negotiations,' said Czarny. 'Who exactly decided on this computerized transfer of over a quarter-million Jews from Israel to Palestine?'"

Facebook isn't prejudging future negotiations, it's reflecting the situation today. Israel has never annexed these settlement blocks, even the big ones. Given how integrated the area is, however, I'd appreciate it if they would let me be in both the Israel and Palestine regional networks.

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About Me

I am an Associate Professor in History at Shippensburg University, where I teach courses in Middle Eastern and world history. My two major research areas are the Middle East from the 7th through 10th centuries and the Persian Gulf from ancient times to the present. Nothing on this site represents an official position of Shippensburg University.